Christiania Whitehead, The Afterlife of St Cuthbert: Place, Texts and Ascetic Tradition, 690–1500

Abstract

The cult of St Cuthbert generated the writing of numerous texts across multiple genres from the late seventh century down to the end of the Middle Ages. Established on the island of Lindisfarne in northern England following the death of the saint in 687, Cuthbert’s cult cultivated a position of authority through textual records, political alliances and landholdings until the community and its precious relics were translated away from the island: first, in a peripatetic tour of its landholdings in northern England from c.875 to the early 890s, followed by a century-long residence in Chester-Le-Street, and eventually via a final translation of the community and relics to Durham where it has remained since the 990s. These changes in Cuthbert’s community meant that its members sought to reinforce their position by writing the texts that form the focus of this new book by Christiania Whitehead. Elements of the surviving corpus can...